


Throw Away Your Shot

by zairiko



Category: NINE PERCENT (Band), 偶像练习生 | Idol Producer (TV)
Genre: Angst, I'm Sorry, Idol Producer top 20, Multi, Violence and Murder, adding tags as we go, survival!au, trainees from the same company know each other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-07-08
Packaged: 2019-05-17 08:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 14,985
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14828474
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zairiko/pseuds/zairiko
Summary: Twenty unknowing people have been mysteriously transferred to an island setting where they will have to fight to win and get out. It's up to them to play by the rules or find their own way to escape.Who lives? Who dies? and how many?





	1. DAY 1: COMMENCE (1)

 

 

 

> _01 - Cai Xukun_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 06,04_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __Fixation Bowie Combat Knife_  
>  __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (800mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

 

_[05:11]_

 

When Cai Xukun wakes up and finds himself in an unfamiliar area, he gets confused first before being struck with panic. He tries to his best to recall how on earth he got here when the last thing he remembers doing was trying out a new game on his computer before going to sleep. And he’s a hundred percent sure he fell asleep on his bed, and not on the rocks he found himself lying on just a moment ago. And what’s more, he’s actually dressed and not in the sleepwear he remembers himself wearing.

 

_‘Maybe this is a dream?’_

 

The was the only possible explanation he could think of, specially when he finds a bag half a meter from where he’s standing and discovers that it contained a bottle of mineral water, a handheld flashlight, a sheathed combat knife, and a gun. He sticks his hand into the bag to check if he missed anything. Sure enough, he hears the crinkling sound of a piece of paper and pulls it out. He shines the flashlight over it to read what was written.

 

 

 

> _With you are 9 special bullets. Use it to win the game._
> 
> _Your objectives:_
> 
> _Stay alive and kill 3 targets to win the game._
> 
> _Everyone is a target._
> 
> _You have 20 days to accomplish this mission._
> 
> _Good luck._

 

This feels too detailed to Xukun to be a dream. He checks the note for any more details, but nothing else other than those words were printed on it. He’s a bit uncomfortable about the fact that he’s supposed to kill. What if in this dream, the people he’ll have to kill end up being his family and friends? He certainly can’t do that. But precisely because it’s all a dream, it also means he can, and it won’t do anybody any harm.

 

Plus, it seemed like an almost exciting dream, kind of like an agent mission scenario where had to fight for his life. It feels almost adrenaline-inducing for Xukun.

 

Xukun decides that if he finds himself in a situation where he has to really defend himself, he will go with the moment and do what he can to stay alive, but most of him is convinced that he should just hope to wake up before he encounters such a situation.  He thinks it wouldn’t be a terrible decision to move to another location. Observing his view at the moment, he can tell he’s close to the foot of a mountain and decides to trek down to where he thinks it’ll be easier.

 

With his plans decided, he takes a few gulps of the mineral water to help his thirst and to completely wake up his senses and begins his trek. The cold early morning air makes him feel awake and completely aware of his surroundings. He knows he said it was just in case, but he made sure to attach the combat knife on his waist, and the gun at the back of his pants.

 

He’s not going to admit it any time now, but he really is on edge.

 

He hears a gunshot sound in the distance.

 

“Shit- fuck.” It didn’t sound like it was aimed at something else. It was aimed at him. The words ‘everyone is a target’ rings in his mind and he’s a hundred percent sure that he’s fucking terrified right now. “I wasn’t expecting it to happen so soon, what the fuck?”

 

Cai Xukun’s pace turned from a casual trek to sprinting in fear for his life. He clutches the gun hard to his chest while running, barely able to think. He can’t tell if the shooter was chasing him because only the crunch of his shoes against gravel and his heavy breathing are the only things he can hear in his panic-induced run. Still running, he figured it would be wise to turn off his flashlight so as to not be followed by the shooter. It seemed like the sun would rise soon and he only had a few minutes to find a place to hide and avoid being seen. The terrain right now offered no such place. He’ll have to run farther, perhaps to the forestry he estimates to be a little more than 500 meters from him. He’s never run such a distance before, but he’s praying his athletic skills work in his dream.

 

_‘It’s not that far, I think I can make it..!’_

 

The gravel under his feet slowly become soil and grass, and the trees are starting to look bigger, but he’s also feeling his exhaustion through how heavy his legs seem to be and the dryness of his tongue from panting on the cold morning air. He still isn’t sure if someone’s chasing after him, but he’s going to play it safe and keep running. He looks ahead and avoids looking behind him, only focusing on the dark downhill slope of his path toward the trees. But as he approaches closer, he makes out the image of someone moving.

 

_‘Shit. Someone is in there too. What the fuck am I supposed to do now? Should I shoot at him?’_

 

But then the image he saw steps out of the trees shadows and into the early streaks of sunlight, arms raised over his head and waving to Xukun. When he’s only some meters away, he shouts at the stranger.

 

“Help me! Someone was shooting at me!”

 

“Follow me, let’s hide!” The stranger replies and then turns to run in another direction while making sure Xukun was keeping up with him.

 

The stranger soon leads Xukun to a thicker part of the forest where the trees grew close to each other and an abundance of bushes thick enough to hide in was present.

 

“I was making my way out of the forest and up the mountain when, but then I heard the shot so I came back here.” The stranger sounded harmless, and now that Xukun could take a closer look, he decided that he looked harmless too.

 

“I was walking down the mountain when someone tried to shoot me. I’m Cai Xukun by the way.”

 

“You Zhangjing. Nice to meet you. Did you find a bag when you woke up too?” Zhangjing asks.

 

“Yeah, you too?”

 

Zhangjing answers ‘yes’ and it’s then that he realizes that Zhangjing is holding a flashlight of the same kind and had a bag of the same kind too.

 

“How about a note?”

 

Zhangjing is looking at him seriously now, biting his lower lip and meeting Xukun’s eyes with heavy expectation and fear. Xukun thinks he probably has the same look in his eyes when he answers.

 

“Kill three targets to win the game.”

 

It comes out as a whisper and he feels the tension that immediately forms between them. Everyone is a target. Zhangjing was a target to him, and he was a target to Zhangjing.

 

“Listen, let’s work together, Xukun.” Zhangjing suggests out of nowhere.

 

Xukun can tell that Zhangjing is desperate to some degree, but he’s still skeptical whether or not he could trust the other. Sure, fighting as a pair is obviously way better than going solo because there’s someone watching his back for him, but for all he knows, Zhangjing could be planning to kill him the moment he let down his guard. If he’s thinking right, then Zhangjing probably has the exact same items in his backpack. The knife and the gun. He could be in much more danger than the one he just escaped from.

 

“How...how do I know I can trust you?” He looks at Zhangjing who’s crouching beside him. Unlike Xukun, he doesn’t have his weapons strapped on him, instead keeping them in his bag. His stature is much smaller than Xukun too. He’s starting to think he just might be able to take Zhangjing down if he needed to, but also that Zhangjing really would need Xukun’s help to survive.

 

“I’m helping you now, aren’t I?” Zhangjing’s voice rises louder and higher as he tries to convince Xukun his point. “I’ll even help you get rid of your shooter if you want me to.”

That was actually quite enough for Xukun to think that Zhangjing genuinely wanted to work together to survive

 

“And how do you think we’ll do that?” Xukun knows he told himself that he wouldn’t kill, but someone tried to kill him just now. That was enough reason to do more than defend himself now, wasn’t it? And besides, this was all a dream. He could play this just like how he played those shooting games. And he was pretty good at those games. It would be a shame if he sucks now.

 

“I have an idea.”

  
  


 

 

> _[06:34]_

 

Xukun hid behind the tree Zhangjing had instructed him to hide behind. In addition to hiding, Zhangjing told him to be on the look out for who could be his shooter. According to Zhangjing, his shooter most likely headed towards the same direction as Xukun did, meaning he could be entering the area just right about now.

 

“We’ll wait for him and shoot him, but we know the guns are really loud so don’t shoot of you think you can’t hit him, okay?”

 

Zhangjing leaves him and hides in another area a little bit further into the forest, telling he’ll be doing the same. Zhangjing disappears from his sight and into the darkness, but he spots flash of light come from where Zhangjing headed. _‘So that’s how we’ll communicate.’_

 

He turns his head back to observe the edge of the forest where it’s brighter because the sun had finally risen. It’s quiet so he tries to tune his ears in for the sound of footsteps. He’s a bit anxious because there’s a huge flaw in their plan, which was what if his shooter did not follow him into the forest at all, or if he had already entered way before Xukun and Zhangjing had positioned themselves, but he couldn’t find it in himself to back down when he had a chance to be 33% closer to completing his objective and winning.

 

Soon enough, he spots some movement at the corner of his eyes and follows it. Just as Zhangjing had anticipated, it was a person and probably the one who attempted to shoot him as well. Xukun estimates the distance between them to be about a hundred meters or so. His target is moving really slowly though, and had Xukun been confident that he had the skill to shoot at that distance, he really would have shot him.

 

 _‘Wait for him to get closer’_ is what he chants in his head instead as he continues to follow the target with his eyes and stayed as still as possible to not get discovered. And as if being affected by his thoughts, his target starts shortening the distance between the two of them. But shit, he was shortening it at a frightening speed.

 

Xukun brings his gun up to aim as best as he can. He doesn’t actually know how to use a gun, but at this distance, he’s confident he can land a bullet in. His target has his back facing Xukun, and it makes it easier for him. He can feel Zhangjing watching him and probably thinking that it was the right time to shoot too.

 

Taking a deep breath, he holds his finger against the trigger and pulls it slowly but surely.

 

_‘Here I go..’_

 

The gunshot noise rings in his ears at the sound of the first kill he’s done. But other than that, he hears a voice through an earpiece he hadn’t noticed earlier.

 

“Player 17, Tung Youlin, has been eliminated by Player 1, Cai Xukun. Player 1, Cai Xukun, has achieved 1 out of 3 required kills.”

 

 _‘eliminated…’_ He feels like throwing up.

 

_[--]_

 

 

> _01 - Cai Xukun_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 06,03_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __Fixation Bowie Combat Knife_  
>  __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (723mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (13 bullets available)_

 

_[--]_

 

 

> _09 - You Zhangjing_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 06,03_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife_  
>  __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (800mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (12 bullets available)_

 

_[Players’ Status]_

 

 

 

> _01_Cai Xukun (Alive)_  
>  _02_Chen Linong (Alive)_  
>  _03_Fan Chengcheng (Alive)_  
>  _04_Huang Minghao (Alive)_  
>  _05_Lin Yanjun (Alive)_  
>  _06_Zhu Zhengting (Alive)_  
>  _07_Wang Ziyi (Alive)_  
>  _08_Wang Linkai (Alive)_  
>  _09_You Zhangjing (Alive)_  
>  _10_Bi Wenjun (Alive)_  
>  _11_Qian Zhenghao (Alive)_  
>  _12_Bu Fan (Alive)_  
>  _13_Li Xikan (Alive)_  
>  _14_Zhu Xingjie (Alive)_  
>  _15_Ling Chao (Alive)_  
>  _16_Zheng Ruibin (Alive)_  
>  _17_Tung Youlin (Eliminated by 01)_  
>  _18_Qin Fen (Alive)  
>  _ _19_Lin Chaoze (Alive)  
>  _ _20_Xu Shengen (Alive)_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my ip/npc fics are mostly zhangjun fluff, but i'm doing a survival au for a change (i really wanna try new things and take on challenges to improve my writig, pls support me ;w;),, kinda battle royale/hunger games-ish
> 
> i've wanted to do this since abt 2 weeks ago but i finally got the guts to do it
> 
> important note! a lot of the stuff that happen are decided randomly  
> i literally asked a friend to choose a number from 1-20 and wrote what i ended up with  
> (oof kc, well, this is what 11 got you!)
> 
> i'll try to keep my updates not too far from one another, but pls don't expect too much ,w, 
> 
> anyway, thank you for checking this out and...idk,comment who you want to survive?


	2. DAY 1: COMMENCE (2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A peak at the situation on a different side of the map.

《Tip! On each day, three bags containing supplies will be dropped randomly on the island from [12:00 - 14:00]》

 

 

 

> _07 - Wang Ziyi_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: -07,-06_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (689mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

 

_[11:34]_

 

It’s been a few hours since Ziyi heard the voice in his earpiece announce the elimination of a player, and he hasn’t heard any more announcements since. He figures people must be serious about all of whatever the hell is happening, and if he doesn’t take it seriously too, he could end up getting killed. But that wasn’t the only thing in his worries, because there was now the problem of food and water. He can’t defend himself or run away from an assailant if he’s thirsty and hungry, which is how he is at the moment. He has to find food first, and then a source of freshwater later.

 

Ziyi can see the the view of the ocean close by so he decides to walk inland, towards the tall palm trees in hopes of maybe finding some fallen fruit he could eat and drink. And he’s thankful he at least has a knife he could use. The last thing he wants to happen is having to bang coconuts against sharp rocks and end up spilling all the coconut water just like he’s seen in a movie before- oh, and to die too. The last thing he wants is to die.

 

A shadow moves over him while he’s eyeing the coconuts, and then he sees it dropping from the sky. It was a bag attached to a parachute. It still had a long way before it could hit the ground, and the wind was quickly blowing it inland. For all he knew, the bag might be containing important items, just like the items he found when he came to. He’ll have to get it no matter what.

 

He jogs after it, constantly observing ang trying to predict where it was going to land. Soon enough, the parachute gets caught in a branch that’s not impossible to reach. Ziyi was just about to go directly under it the tree to study how he would climb it when he sees someone else make a run for it.

 

_‘Shit, he’s after it too…’_

 

They make eye contact soon and Ziyi, while scared as heck and not knowing what to do, understands that he can’t just leave it alone, not when he’s this close to it. Right now, the stranger isn’t holding any weapon, but Ziyi is. He has his hand gripped tightly around his combat knife’s handle. He could try to intimidate the other guy to leave him alone. He sure hopes this guy isn’t tougher than he looks because if so, then Ziyi will readily surrender a fight.

 

“Listen-”

 

“Please don’t hurt me!” The stranger is holding his hands up, looking like he was ready to run away if not for the fact that there was a bag of (probably) supplies about a meter above them. He’s keeping an eye on Ziyi, but also repeatedly turning his head to look at the bag they were both after.

 

“I won’t. I just want that bag, no trouble, okay?” Ziyi explains, trying to sound confident and not like he’s feeling sorry for the guy. Except, he’s not sure if he sounds like that at all.

 

“Oh, thank you, thank you, I don’t want trouble too.” The stranger takes careful backward steps while bowing to Ziyi,  still with his hands in the air. “...I’ll be, um...I’d be going but I, I really want the bag too.” He stops, and stares at Ziyi.

 

Ziyi has no idea what he’s supposed to say now, but just in case other people saw the bag too and decided to look for it, he figures they should settle this as quickly as possible. It’s just that, this person is being a bit unpredictable, and Ziyi finds it difficult to read his expression because he keeps looking at Ziyi, the bag, Ziyi again, and making puppy eyes. Ridiculous. _‘We’re supposed to be fighting for survival and this dude has the audacity to utilize puppy eyes?’_ But maybe he shouldn’t judge. Each to their own strategies after all.

 

“Say...What if we share?” The guy suggests. “...please?”

 

Again with the puppy eyes.

 

“Okay,  let’s get it then. And then we get out of here just in case more people come. Let’s be quick.” Ziyi sighs and he sees the guy smile in relief and finally put his hands down.

 

“You look strong. Lift me up on your shoulders, I’ll grab it, and then we can dash away somewhere.”

 

“Good plan, bro.” Ziyi doesn’t argue and just crouches to let the boy sit on his shoulders, huffing before lifting him up as stable as he can. “B O O G I E. I’m Wang Ziyi, by the way.”

 

“Boogie? You sound like a fun person.” The stranger holds onto a branch and leans a little bit to reach the bag and cut off the strings attaching it to the parachute. “I’m Fan Chengcheng.”

 

“Wait, then you’re Fan B-”

 

“Don’t even say that name right now. Let me down, we gotta blast now.”

 

Ziyi let Chengcheng down, and from there they decide to head to the direction Chengcheng came from. They check the bag’s contents on the way.

 

“Oh, so there’s water, three bottles woah, and wait… there’s food!” Chengcheng rejoices loudly and Ziyi expresses his relief with a smile. “Oh, and there’s this gun but...it’s not like the one we’re carrying. The bullets are.. needle things?”

 

“Maybe it’s a tranquilizer gun?”

 

“Oooh…”

 

“So then how are we splitting this?” Chengcheng asks right after, handing the bag over to Ziyi because he’s been carrying it for some time now.

 

“Let’s split the water and food between us, and...do you want to hold onto the tranquilizer gun?” Is what Ziyi suggests, remembering that his priority right now is food and water. And he’s also getting the feeling that Chengcheng might be relying on him at this point and giving him some sort of authority between the two of them

 

“Uh, just hold on to it. If you need to use it you can take it from me.”

 

Ziyi expresses his agreement so they go back to just walking further in land. Only after they were sure they were far away from their initial location did they take a break to eat their lunch. They try to get to know each other more and decide to partner up since walking around alone was a stressful and scary thing to do, especially in a place like this where they have no idea if their next encounter could be death. They both agree that they’re incredibly lucky to have met and got together without a fight. But Ziyi thinks the most important thing they’ve discussed was how they ended up here and what the last thing they remembered doing was. It was almost ridiculous how both of their actions matched up. Just like Chengcheng, Ziyi also had recalled signing up for a game he saw while he was bored. That must have been the requirement that made them end up here in an island trying to survive. It’s ridiculous, and Ziyi almost didn’t take it seriously, but the death announcement shook him up quite a lot. Fortunately, there haven’t been anymore announcements since.

 

“Where and how do you think we should spend the night?” Chengcheng asks when they finally decide to get moving again.

 

“As for where, we could just keep moving and keep an eye out I guess? And well, do you want to take turns sleeping so we can guard each other?”

 

Ziyi knows his second idea could be risky, but only if Fan Chengcheng was going to betray him or take advantage of him sleeping. Maybe he’s thinking with some paranoia, but it’s logical to think like that in an environment like this. He literally just heard someone’s murder announcement as early as sunrise. Of course he was going to play it as safe as he can.

 

“Hm, I can’t think of anything better so let’s just go with that.” Chengcheng replies lightheartedly, and it clears Ziyi’s paranoid ideas of Chengcheng killing him in his sleep and replaces it with thoughts of how harmless and carefree the boy beside him was being. But surely the kid is on the edge too and he’s just trying to cope with some positive vibes. God knows all of them on this island needs some of that.

 

Ziyi was almost going to relax at that point, but a snapping twig caught his attention and made him hold out an arm to stop Chengcheng from walking.

 

“Shit, someone’s near. Move slowly, let’s hide over there.” He whispers to Chengcheng and doesn’t wait for an answer before he’s already moving to lie down behind a short shrub. Chengcheng moves quietly behind him. “Get the tranquilizer thing ready just in case.”

 

The sun was setting then, and there were enough shadows to hide them, and also a shadow of a person visible from their spot. Even if they couldn’t see him directly, they could confirm that there was indeed a person just from the moving shadow.

 

“Fuck, he has his gun and knife out.” Chengcheng whispers, hand clutching the tranquilizer gun tightly as he waits for something to happen or for Ziyi to give him more instructions.

 

The owner of the shadow is getting closer, and Ziyi’s nervous grip on Chengcheng’s shoulder gets tighter.

 

“You can see him from there, right? Shoot at him, Cheng.”

 

“No, Ziyi, wait. I- I can’t.”

 

“We’re not killing him. We just need him unconscious so we can run away. I’ll do it if you-”

 

“Ziyi, no..!!”

 

Chengcheng may have whisper-yelled too loudly, and now Ziyi is certain the shadow’s owner heard them because it stopped moving. Ziyi doesn’t dare say a word, staying low on the ground and thinking over his options now that Chengcheng suddenly won’t cooperate.

 

But Chengcheng beats him to taking action  and stands up, completely giving out their location.

 

“What? What are you doing, get down!”

 

But Chengcheng doesn’t listen to him and walks out completely. At that moment, he expected something terrible to happen, but he hears a different voice call out Chengcheng’s full name, and Chengcheng yelling out a name he doesn’t know.

 

“Zhengting-ge!”

  
  


_[17:34]_

 

The three of them huddle around a small fire that took them at least an hour to make. While they were making it, Chengcheng introduced the other man to Ziyi as Zhu Zhengting, telling him that they were childhood friends. It turns out, Chengcheng had been worried ever since they figured out why they were here because just like the two of them, Zhengting had signed up for some game too. They share their discovery to Zhengting, who also recalls that he had indeed done the same as them.

 

“Wait, Cheng. Didn’t...didn’t the others sign up too?” Zhengting suddenly takes hold of Chengcheng’s shoulders, eyes wide with worry.

 

Chengcheng’s mouth falls open then, and it’s like a realization is sinking in his mind.

 

“Do you mean...Justin could be here?”

 

Zhengting slowly nods, looking down, but then snapping his head up.

 

“Crap, I think Wenjun too…!”

 

Ziyi doesn’t know who those names belonged too, but the duo must be very worried. He asks them anyway about the names they mentioned, Justin and Wenjun, and asked if they were planning on finding them. He explains that he wouldn’t mind teaming with them and helping them find their friends. There is strength in numbers after all.

 

But then they hear it, all three of them through their earpiece.

 

“Player 14, Zhu Xingjie, has been eliminated by Player 1, Cai Xukun. Player 1, Cai Xukun, has achieved 2 out of 3 required kills.”

 

The name rings with fear. They look at each other and huddle closer to the fire, all thinking of the same thing. They put out the fire and got rid of any markers that might give out their location.

 

“We’ll find Justin and Wenjun, and no matter what, avoid Cai Xukun.”

  


 

 _[--]_  

> _03 - Fan Chengcheng_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: -06,-02_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1247mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)  
> _ __Tranquilizer Gun (10 darts available)  
> _ __Food Container (Empty)  
> _ __Canned Food (3)_

 

_[--]_

> _06 - Zhu Zhengting_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: -06,-02_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __BC-41 Combat Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1300mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

 

_[--]_

> _07 - Wang Ziyi_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: -07,-06_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1250mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

 

_[Players’ Status]_

 

> _01_Cai Xukun (Alive)  
> _ _02_Chen Linong (Alive)  
> _ _03_Fan Chengcheng (Alive)  
> _ _04_Huang Minghao (Alive)  
> _ _05_Lin Yanjun (Alive)  
> _ _06_Zhu Zhengting (Alive)  
> _ _07_Wang Ziyi (Alive)  
> _ _08_Wang Linkai (Alive)  
> _ _09_You Zhangjing (Alive)  
> _ _10_Bi Wenjun (Alive)  
> _ _11_Qian Zhenghao (Alive)  
> _ _12_Bu Fan (Alive)  
> _ _13_Li Xikan (Alive)  
> _ _14_Zhu Xingjie (Eliminated by 01)  
> _ _15_Ling Chao (Alive)  
> _ _16_Zheng Ruibin (Alive)  
> _ _17_Tung Youlin (Eliminated by 01)  
> _ _18_Qin Fen (Alive)  
> _ _19_Lin Chaoze (Alive)  
> _ _20_Xu Shengen (Alive)_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also on (that sorry excuse of a) map, yeah, you can figure out who's dead and stuff, and who's where i guess...uhh....ok 
> 
> ahaha, sorry, also btw herleen, if you read this, i've forgotten which no.s you chose, but anyway, this the unchangeable result!  
> i'll go into details on zxj in the next one don't worry  
> and i'm honestly trying to not make them adapt to quickly and stuff /clearly xukun is a diff case here/  
> eh....
> 
> thanks for reading !


	3. DAY 1: COMMENCE (3)

 

 

> _01 - Cai Xukun_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 05,-03_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __Fixation Bowie Combat Knife  
>  _ __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (510mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (13 bullets available)_

 

_[--]_

 

> _09 - You Zhangjing_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 05,-03_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife  
>  _ __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (640mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (12 bullets available)_

 

_[16:28]_

 

“Fuck, someone got to it first.”

 

Xukun and Zhangjing survey the area carefully, finding clues as to where the bag could’ve gone. The parachute it was attached to has been left behind, but that was it.

 

“It hasn’t been long since it landed. Whoever took it must still be here.” Zhangjing concentrates on anything that could be a clue, anything at all, like-

 

The direction the parachute was facing.

 

“Xukun, I think they went there.”

 

Zhangjing points at a direction, and Xukun was just about to run into the direction, but he stops and stares instead. Something feels off to him.

 

“What’s wro-”

 

“ZHANGJING, GET DOWN!”

 

A bullet passes through the space Xukun’s head was in just a moment ago. The gunshot sound echoes loudly, making it easy for them to figure out how far their target is, but said target started running right after he fired his gun. Xukun and Zhangjing immediately follow after him, hands ready on their guns just in case, and eyes peeled for any shots fired at them. The chase goes on longer than they thought, long enough that they couldn’t keep track of which direction they were heading to, but soon enough, they reach a dead end after a bunch of turns that their target made and lost him completely.

 

“Did we lose him?”

 

“I won’t accept leaving with nothing after all that running we did.” Zhangjing complains jokingly, and it ends up lightening Xukun’s mood after what happened.

 

But something felt off. He stood still and tried to take a good look to try to figure it out when

 

“Down again!” He shouts and pulls Zhangjing with him just in time to avoid another close call with getting shot in the head.

 

Taking in the fact that the shot was really loud, Xukun figured that the shooter must be close by and that they were hiding. And because they failed the shot, they can’t really run away right now or else Xukun and Zhangjing would see them and it would be a repeat of what had happened earlier. But it wasn’t like Xukun and Zhangjing could move from their spots as well. Their target could shoot at them if they leave their cover to look.

 

“Crawl to the side as quietly as you can. He’s directly in front of us, Kun.” Zhangjing whispers, taking out his water bottle from his bag. “Do it fast though. I’ll give you two minutes, and then I’ll make some noise as a distraction. Shoot if they reveal their location.”

 

Xukun nods quietly, quickly following Zhangjing’s plan. Between the two of them, Zhangjing has been the one with plans and ideas since they met. Xukun has no problem with this, because Zhangjing has proven himself useful and reliable so far. The boy clearly knows quite a lot more than Xukun, and it’s beneficial for survival too.

 

Xukun counts in his head while he crawls, stopping when he reaches ten seconds before two minutes to listen to his surroundings.

 

He hears some noise.

 

_‘Oh, so that’s why he brought out his water.’_

 

Immediately after the noise is a gunshot, loud and clear, and Xukun lifts his head from the ground just in time to see the figure of a crouching man behind some bushes. But most importantly, just in time to hear the sharp scream that pierced the air in time with the gunshot.

 

_‘Shit, Zhangjing.’_

 

He doesn’t waste a second, locking his aim on his target, pulling the trigger and shooting. Killing.

  


“Player 14, Zhu Xingjie, has been eliminated by Player 1, Cai Xukun. Player 1, Cai Xukun, has achieved 2 out of 3 required kills.”

  


“Zhangjing?!” He immediately stands up and runs over to where Zhangjing is. “Shit, did he get you?” He didn’t hear any death announcement through his earpiece but he was sure he heard a scream. Did he not hear it because the gunshot and the scream occupied his senses first?

 

“Hah! Got you!” Zhangjing suddenly stands up from behind some bushes, laughing at Xukun’s worried face. “My scream was pretty real huh?” The shorter boy picks up his water bottle from where he had thrown it, and heads straight to where their target’s body lay still. Close to his body was the supply bag Xukun and Zhangjing were initially after.

 

“Let’s take what we can get and get the hell out of this area.” Xukun says as he pulls out the dead man’s gun out of his hands and moves to get a look at his face. He doesn’t have to call Zhangjing for him to stand next to him and take a look. They say it together with as much respect as killers could muster.

  


“Zhu Xingjie. Whoever you are, may you rest in peace.”

  
  
  


 

 _[--]_  

> _04 - Huang Minghao_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 05,-06_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __Fixation Bowie Combat Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1130mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)  
> _ __Canned Food (4)  
> _ __Rope (30m)  
> _ __Island Map_

 

_[--]_

> _05 - Lin Yanjun_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 05,-06_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __SOG Seal Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1200mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

 

_[--]_

> _08 - Wang Linkai_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 05,-06_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __M-9 Bayonet Knife  
> _ __Flashlight  
> _ __Mineral Water (1050mL)  
> _ __Handgun (9 bullets available)_

  
  


“They got Jie-ge. What the actual fuck is going on.” Linkai is pacing around, wide-eyed and restless after they heard the second announcement of the day through their earpieces. “Who the fuck is Cai Xukun. I’m gonna fucking murder him. I’m gonna-”

 

“Linkai, calm down.” Lin Yanjun steps in front of him and drags the boy by his shoulders to make him sit down. “You know this ‘Zhu Xingjie’ guy just now?”

 

Linkai doesn’t struggle, letting out a huff and nodding. Next to him, a younger boy called Justin puts an arm around him to comfort him.

 

“We’re close friends.” Is all he says as he leans into Justin’s touch to accept the comfort he was being given. Yanjun remained standing in front of them and watching the grief in the kid’s eyes. He has no idea what he’s feeling, and he can only imagine how terrible it is to hear about your friend getting killed and knowing who killed him.

 

“Linkai...you should rest early tonight. Take all the time you need. Justin and I will take turns keeping watch.” He had decided on it without informing Justin, but the kid didn’t question it and agreed, confirming the idea to Linkai. Despite all three of them only knowing each other less than 12 hours, they  empathised with their situations quickly got along well together.

 

“Do you think that Cai Xukun is nearby?” Linkai mutters after being silent.

 

“What was that?”

 

“I...I want to kill him. I want to avenge Xingjie-ge.”

 

Yanjun and Justin look at each other and wordlessly expressed their concern. They understood that Linkai was very upset right now, but if they actually let him go and do that, it would be very dangerous for not only him, but both Justin and Yanjun too. They can only hope the kid is spitting out empty threats and something Linkai was seriously considering.

 

“We understand your anger, Linkai-ge.” Justin says softly, returning to comfort him. “And we’ll help you get revenge if it’s really what you want to do, but you have to promise us that you’ll calm down first before thinking of doing it. Acting in anger is the worst way to achieve things.”

 

Linkai doesn’t say anything more, just nodding once before moving to lie down on the ground, using his bag as a pillow and the parachute from the supply bag they found a while ago as a small blanket. Justin remains sitting beside him quietly and deep in thought.

 

“Yanjun-ge?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Do you also have some friends that could be here?”

 

Yanjun goes quiet, looking down on his feet with a frown on his face. When the three of them, mostly Justin, had figured out the reason as to why they’ve been brought to this unknown place, Justin had expressed the most worry about having his friends here as well. Yanjun, not so much, because he kind of didn’t want to jinx it by worrying that _they_ could be here. He doesn’t know if he wants to admit to himself the fact that it’s very likely for his friends to be here if he’s here as well.

 

“I hope I don’t.” Is all he answers, hoping Justin would understand without him having to say it. The kid has proven himself to be clever and smart.

 

Justin looks over Linkai to make sure that he was asleep before speaking.

 

“Yanjun-ge, do you have anything you want to do? If we do end up helping Linkai-ge get revenge, after that I was thinking of asking you two to help me look for my geges.”

 

Yanjun recalls Justin mentioning a Zhengting and a Chengcheng in conversation before, and in the small prayers Justin mutters to himself every now and then about wanting them to be safe. He feels bad that someone as young as Justin has to worry about things like that.

 

“Well, the thing I want to do the most right now is escape this god damned place.” Yanjun says, half joking and half serious. Justin smiles and agrees with him, and in turn makes Yanjun’s smile a little bit more genuine from wiping the dejected look on the kid’s face. “And just like you, I want to find someone too.”

 

“Who?”

 

Saying his name would be going against his initial fear of jinxing it, but his gut feeling has been screaming to him  that _he_ really is here too. He’s been uncomfortable all day thinking that _he_ could be out there somewhere, at risk of getting himself killed, of trembling in fear all alone in the dark and uncertain about his fate. He could be Cai Xukun’s next and last kill for all he knows. He could be gone soon, way before Yanjun even gets a clue as to where he is.

  


“You Zhangjing.”

 

But he’s not. His name hasn’t been announced, and Yanjun hopes it never gets announced and that he doesn’t hear it any time soon.

Justin notices Yanjun’s hands trembling, and gives them a comforting squeeze.

 

“Hey, I’m smart. We’ll find them, ge. Just you wait.”

  
  


_End of day one. 19 days left._

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> //unrelated but, it's been raining a lot so i've been feeling lazier hhh, i'll try my best to put up the next one by next week wednesday <3 
> 
> and well  
> the next person who's going to die,,  
> i'm having such a hard time, kc if you just knew who you chose, dfgdfj,, but i'm gonna have to do it sorry not sorry


	4. DAY 2: VENGEANCE ISN'T OURS (1)

 

> _ 01 - Cai Xukun _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Status: Alive _
> 
> _ Position: 06,-06 _
> 
> _ Items:  _
> 
> __ _Fixation Bowie Combat Knife  
>  _ _Flashlight  
>  _ _ _Mineral Water (1150mL)  
>  _ __ _Handgun (16 bullets available)

 

_ [--] _

 

> _ 09 - You Zhangjing _
> 
>  
> 
> _ Status: Alive _
> 
> _ Position: 06,-06 _
> 
> _ Items:  _
> 
> __ _LHR Combat Knife  
>  __ _Flashlight  
>  __ _Mineral Water (2040mL)  
>  _ _(2) Handgun (16 bullets available) _ _  
>  _ _ _Canned Food (3) _ _  
>  _ __ _First Aid Kit

  
  


_ [09:03] _

  
  


To say that Zhangjing was nervous would be a total understatement to how he is at the moment. Despite complaining about his exhaustion last night, he had barely gotten any sleep and has put it on himself to wake up hours before sunrise.

 

The reason? Paranoia.

 

He looked at Xukun who was sleeping next to him, underneath his head was his bag, and underneath that bag were his weapons. Xukun had killed two people now, and something that Zhangjng managed to observe from that is that he has barely any hesitation. Even though Xukun had told im that he had no experience with using guns, he showed an affinity for it. Natural talent, you could say.

 

Which is why Zhangjing is fearful and paranoid. What if Xukun decides to betray him and take him as his last kill so he can finally escape? He could easily do so the moment Zhangjing lets down his watchful guard. To him, he feels like he’s the easiest target Xukun could get. He may be smart  and reliable in devising their strategies and in keeping track of their locations and supplies and everything else, but he isn’t faster, more physically fit, or better at Xukun when it comes to combat and shooting. The moment Xukun decides he doesn’t need Zhangjing anymore because he’s done enough for Xukun to succeed so far and so quickly is going to be the moment Zhangjing could get stabbed -or following Xukun’s favorite method so far- shot in the back.

  
  
  


But Zhangjing can run away before that happens.

  
  
  


He stands up and checks the things in his bag. Xukun had entrusted him with most of the supplies they got from the supply bag because he had made his position as strategist and manager between the two of them clear from the beginning. That’s right, Xukun trusted him. He has to betray Xukun before Xukun can betray him.

 

“Where are you going, Zhangjing?” Xukun’s words are slurred from just waking up, and he’s not completely out of his 10 hour sleep. He’s not being a threat right now, but Zhangjing still paled at the question.

 

“I’m going to wash up a bit in the lake. Maybe pick a few fruits for breakfast if I see some on the way.” It’s not completely a lie, which is good because Zhangjing can’t lie to save his  life. Xukun buys it, still laying down with no intention of getting up. “You could use a little more rest. Wait for me here, I’ll be quick, okay?” Xukun trusts him right now, and also takes Zhangjing’s words, suggestions and orders very seriously. He’ll use it to his advantage.

 

Xukun mumbles out his agreement with Zhangjing, eyes still closed, and Zhangjing quickly takes the supply bag and his bag with him to the lake in a quick jog. On the way, he berates himself for not deciding on this way earlier, at dawn when he clearly had an easier chance to escape without Xukun on his tail. But it’s too late for that now and he can’t backup.

 

Once he’s far enough towards the direction of the lake, he turns to what he thinks is northwest and makes a run for it. The forest trees can cover him, but the more distance between him and Xukun is, the better. At the back of his mind, he wonders why he didn’t consider killing Xukun directly instead of just running away in fear, but he admits that he really is a coward. His excuses about how Xukun’s senses when it comes to being attacked is frightening, and how he wasn’t good enough with a gun to shoot Xukun without missing or how killing him with the knife was dangerous too because Xukun would most likely sense it and fight back are reasonable excuses though. But that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still a coward.

 

_ ‘You could’ve been worse than a coward, Zhangjing.’  _ He tries to comfort himself.

  
  
  


_ ‘You could’ve been a murderer...well, it’s partly your fault you’re scared now, Zhangjing. You helped him become a murderer.’ _

  
  
  
  
  


_ [09:58] _

  
  


“So how exactly are we going to find Cai Xukun?”

 

Yanjun, Linkai and Justin sit in a circle to discuss their plans. In the end, Linkai confirmed that he really did want to get revenge on his friend’s killer, and Yanjun and Justin agreed to assist him. Justin is holding a map in his hands, brows furrowed in concentration since he woke up two hours ago.

 

“Well, this map is very very detailed I’m almost confident I can pinpoint our location, but it’s not giving me any idea how to pinpoint his location at all.” The youngest was whining at this point, even going as far as tossing the map away and falling onto Linkai’s lap. “What if we just leave it up to fate whether we find him or not, and just hope we hear his name in the announcements?”

 

“That sounds like the only thing we can do right now though.” Yanjun looks up to the sky and tries to guess the time based on what he’s seeing, but his sense of time feels skewed without any accurate time-telling device. Justin woke him up just when the sun was starting to rise though, so he feels like it’s only a few hours before midday.

 

“You’re right. And we also don’t even know what he looks like.” Linkai goes to Justin and acts out a short skit of him asking if Justin was Cai Xukun and Justin answering ‘yes’ only for Linkai to gasp dramatically and play-shoot him with a bang, Justin dying dramatically. They laugh like the kids that they are and Yanjun joins them, his mood immediately becoming less tense after a good laugh.

 

“I have an idea though.” Justin suddenly speaks, still lying on the ground with his hand on the spot where Linkai presumably shot. “Let’s be on the lookout for those supply bags again. But we won’t take them. We’ll camp out at the area where it lands and target whoever comes to get it.” His demeanor was serious, and if not for his looks, Yanjun would’ve forgotten he was only a minor. “It won’t work unless we’re the first ones there, but just in case we find ourselves in such a situation, let’s go by that plan.”

 

“Woah, now that’s a plan!” Linkai says, excitedly agreeing with Justin. Yanjun expresses his agreement too, and they all settle down into a small meeting circle to discuss it in detail.

 

“What if we get the items inside and replace it with rocks or something before we go and hide?” Linkai suggests.

 

“We could do that,  _ or _ we could use me and lower their guard after seeing that it’s just a kid.” Justin gets even more enthusiastic as he continues. “I could pretend I’m injured too, and then when they’re close enough, slash them with a hidden knife. Isn’t that cool?!” 

 

“That sounds... dangerous.” Although it was a tactic they could consider, so many things could go wrong in such a plan. “If you let them come too close, they’ll be able to shoot you faster than we can shoot at them, especially with the fact that none of us have actual experience with shooting.”

 

“Then...I just have to make sure they don’t come too close, right?”

 

For a moment, Justin looked hungry for blood and Yanjun was actually questioning whether or not the kid was actually an experienced manipulator of some sort. Just last night, he was a gentle child comforting Linkai for his loss, now he looked like it was him who was out for revenge and not the other boy.

 

But then every one of them shut up when they felt like there was someone there. Justin whispered to him.

 

“We saw someone in the distance behind you. He’s close, we should hide.” Yanjun turns around to check what they were looking at.

 

“Do you think it’s Cai Xukun?” Linkai whispers, voice shaking a little with something behind it. Yanjun couldn’t tell what emotion was behind that voice. It was close to anticipation and excitement rather than shaking because of nervousness and fear.

 

“Hold onto your guns and get down.”

 

They all crouched close to the ground where the bushes could cover them. Linkai was the only one with his head up and continuing to look around. Yanjun is sure at this point that Linkai was indeed feeling some sort of thrill from what was happening. 

 

“He stopped moving- oh wait no, he’s moving again.”

 

Justin: “Should we follow after him and see?”

 

Yanjun debated the risks in his head. The other two were counting on him to lead them because he was the eldest, and he understands that it’s his responsibility to keep them alive. 

 

_ ‘Keep Justin alive for Zhengting and Chengcheng... whoever they were.’ _

 

_ ‘Keep Linkai alive for Zhu Xingjie and whoever is out there for him.’ _

 

He’s fine coming third in his priorities.

 

_ ‘Stay alive for You Zhangjing.’ _

 

“Can you still see him?” Yanjun asks.

 

Linkai: “No. His figure’s gone, but I can tell where he went.”

 

“We’ll follow him. Stay under the bushes.”

  
  
  
  


_ [10:22] _

  
  


Cai Xukun was seething with anger. 

 

He found it questionable when Zhangjing left with all of his belongings, along with the supplies they had gotten from yesterday, and even more questionable when Zhangjing didn’t come back immediately. He can’t believe that boy actually just ran away from him like that. And to think that last night, Xukun was debating himself that he would help Zhangjing get enough kills so both of them could win together.

 

_ ‘Well here’s your answer, Kun. Maybe this is a sign that you really should’ve just killed him last night and won the game alone.’ _

 

Xukun stomps angrily over the tracks Zhangjing left.

 

“I’m not stupid, You Zhangjing!” 

 

Zhangjing was most likely expecting him to be angry, but what he didn’t expect, was for Xukun to be keeping a calm head. Anyone who takes the time to think would know that Zhangjing didn’t go straight towards the direction of the lake. He must’ve went the other way and just made a show of going to the lake to try and trick Xukun. Tough luck, it wasn’t really working. Xukun was walking quickly through the forest, hoping to catch up with Zhangjing and fire a well deserved bullet at the back of his head. It was about time he left this hellhole of a game. 

  
  
  
  


_ [10:37] _

  
  


Cai Xukun is bound to be up now.

 

_ ‘Is he hunting me down to kill me for leaving?’  _ Zhangjing wonders. The best scenario would be for Xukun to be confused and stay where he is for some time so Zhangjing could put more space between them. He hoped the fake tracks he left leading to the opposite direction was believable enough to lead Cai Xukun away from him.

 

Zhangjing sits down in what he thinks is a well-covered area and opens up a can of food to have some breakfast. He had forgotten his hunger because he had fear to occupy his mind, but now that he felt like he had traveled enough for the time being, the exhaustion and hunger finally caught up to him. All he’s hoping now is that there was no one dangerous nearby.

 

And just as if he had jinxed it, he hears the crunch of leaves and the sound of a voice.

  
  


“Are you sure he went here?” 

  
  


_ ‘Oh, none of them sound like Cai Xukun though?’  _ Zhangjing secured the bags to himself and prepared himself to move and leave any moment he felt like he was going to be found. Based on what he was hearing, he assumed that there were 2 or more of them. None of them were Cai Xukun, to his relief, but it would still be dangerous if Zhangjing got caught up with them because it seemed like they were looking for him too.

 

_ ‘I could shoot one of them and run away though. Wait, I have Xingjie’s gun. I can shoot two.’  _ It sounded like an effective thing to do, but the question of ‘can I do it?’ surfaced again and again in his head.  _ ‘If Cai Xukun were here, he wouldn’t hesitate.’  _ Zhangjing had always been only giving orders and never being the one to do things himself, and now in the face of a situation where he had to be the one to do something, he just couldn’t do anything.

_ ‘Maybe it’s better if I run-’ _

 

“Get down, quick!”

 

A shot rang into the air, coupled with the sound of bodies diving onto the ground. Zhangjing froze, hugging his knees, eyes blown wide at the sound. 

 

They were going to get announcements today too, it seems.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank goodness i wrote most of this before i got sick, i wouldn't have been able to post this but whew  
> i'm sorry ??it's kinda filler or ehh?? i'm trying my best i know i'm not good at stuff like this hhhh ahaha
> 
> anyways,, it's obvious,, there's 5 of them there, i gotta kill somebody *shrug emoji*  
> idk, tell me who you want to live out of the five (that won't change who i'm killing tho)


	5. DAY 2: VENGEANCE ISN'T OURS (2)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks, kc, for choosing this option and well, you know  
> and thanks, herleen, for entertaining my antics at like 3am or smth and picking a number from 1-10  
> ahahaha i'm so sorry

 

 

_[10:42]_

 

Zhangjing tensed after the shot rang out, mind suddenly aware that he was amidst a crossfire between two groups of people, one of which could very much be Cai Xukun. And better yet, a Cai Xukun who wouldn’t hesitate to shoot at him if he ever found out Zhangjing was right there, sitting behind a tree and hugging his knees.

 

He was also very aware, however, that there was a way better, albeit riskier, choice he could make. A few moments had passed and there had been no death announcement present, meaning Cai Xukun had missed. Zhangjing made a quick check of his surroundings to check if he was correct regarding their positions. Sure enough, everyone was low on the ground and hiding, taking cover and keeping their positions safe and unknown. But Zhangjing was on edge and had used every bit of information he had in his head to make an informed guess. He assumed the shooter was somewhere on his two o’ clock based on the shot’s noise, and the other group to be somewhere at his eleven, and very close.

 

He could fire a random shot at the shooter’s assumed position to throw him off and lead him away from the other group’s position so the other group could make use of it as a chance to take the shooter out. It was them and Zhangjing against one, easy - as long as the other group didn’t decide to turn tail and run away of course. Zhangjing had to believe and hope that they won’t, otherwise he’d have to take on the shooter alone.

 

Oh well. He’ll choose to believe.

 

With a some sort of resolve, Zhangjing holds a gun on each of his hands as steadily as he can and takes a deep breath before he switches to a higher position. He takes another deep breath before he fires the two guns simultaneously in one direction, and then crouches just as quickly as it all happened.

 

Now, he has to change position.

 

Zhangjing wastes no time in moving to his five o’ clock to make sure the other group doesn’t get targeted by the shooter. He hears a bullet fire at his previous position by the tree, now at least two meters from him. There’s another tree a few feet away from him and he tries his best to fire a well-aimed shot just before he takes cover behind it and hopes for the best. He knows the chances of him actually landing a bullet is low, but what he’s doing is obviously throwing off his target.

 

He crouches lower when another gunshot pierces the air, but this time it’s not from him or the shooter.

 

That must be the other group.

 

The first bullet from the shooter had almost gotten Yanjun, but thank goodness it only scraped his shoulder. Yanjun thanked Justin for his quick call and checked on the two younger boys, only getting relieved after he knows none of them have been harmed like him.

 

All of them are a bit shaken, he can tell, but they’re also trying not to let it get to them and stay calm. He can say so from the sharp, assessing look in Justin’s eyes.

 

But that gets thrown off too when they hear a second gunshot fire loudly right after they’ve calmed themselves down.

 

 _‘Wait, that was two guns, I’m sure of it’_ Yanjun’s face furrowed in confusion and fear after he realized it.

 

A third one fires off right after.

 

Then a fourth one.

 

“I’m gonna shoot.” Linkai gets up from the ground, quickly getting into a crouching position. He takes a second to aim, pull the trigger, and get back down to where both Yanjun and Justin look at him with panic-stricken faces.

 

“Quick, move, we can’t stay here for long.” Justin whisper-yells angrily, pushing Linkai and Yanjun in his urgency. “Maybe it’s better if we separate too.” He suggests.

 

Yanjun is hesitant to split up with the younger boys, but Justin has a point. They’re potentially a bigger target as a group and it would help them surround the enemy if they go and fire from different directions.

 

Justin and Linkai are already splitting off when Yanjun warns them not to go too far or too close amd bids them good luck. Both of them give him a determined nod and a smile.

 

_‘Time to move.’_

 

Justin crawls someplace else as quickly as he can. It’s a lot closer to where he thinks their enemy is from, but that’s okay with his as he’ll have more chances to land a shot in at closer distances. No other gun had fired after Linkai fired his, maybe it really had managed to throw off their enemy.  But there was still one other person he had to think about: The one who fired the other shots.

 

Whoever he was, he must have been the one they had attempted to follow earlier. Justin admits he was shaken, but he had tried his best to observe and remember where he saw and heard the bullets hit. He’ll follow that person’s trail and figure out whether or not they could consider him an ally.

 

Another gun went off, and this time, it was straight ahead in Justin’s direction. He moved quickly, but he heard no returning shot which was honestly worrying. _‘He didn’t get him, there was no announcement. Calm down.’_ He wondered if the person was too occupied with changing position to return a bullet, but he’s not really sensing any movement. It’s quiet again after that, all of them have been hiding for what felt like long minutes when it was only really seconds. Justin tries to take a look at what’s in front of him.

 

_‘Bingo.’_

 

Justin picks up a stray stick from the ground and throws it carefully at the person who had his back turned from him. It hits, and the person is visibly startled. Justin sees his grip on his gun tighten as he turns around so Justin raises his hands just a little bit to give a sign that it wasn’t his intention to harm this person.

 

“I’m Justin. Are you helping us? What’s your name?” He whispers slowly, making sure each syllable could be lip-read easily by the other.

 

The response Justin receives is: “You Zhangjing. Help me, I’ll help you.”

 

He gives a nod and a thumbs up, and right after, Zhangjing reveals his other hand that he’s been hiding behind his back all along. Zhangjing is injured, scraped by a bullet just like Yanjun, but on his hand. _‘No wonder he didn’t return it.’_

 

“I have two other friends.” Justin signs the number with his hand. “We’ve split up and we’re trying to surround the other guy.”

 

Zhangjing nods and instructs Justin to stay where he is and tells him (disturbingly confident, Justin thinks to himself) that he’ll ‘make the enemy’s location known.’ Justin didn’t know what that meant, but his gut was screaming at him that it was going to be something dangerous. It’s only when Zhangjing flashes him a confident smile that his nerves die down and he tries to trust the other’s word.

 

What Zhangjing did next messed up his nerves much worse.

 

 

_[10:45]_

 

Zhangjing stood up and yelled, in the loudest voice that he could manage without shaking, “Cai Xukun! Catch me if you can!”

 

It was a guess- one that couldn’t be explained in another way as gut feeling.

 

He almosts wants to laugh at himself as he ducks down as quickly as possible, and he did it so fast that the impact had him rolling over, but also making it easier for him to avoid the bullet incoming straight towards him.

 

He had to yell out Xukun’s name to catch everyone’s attention, and also to make sure that Justin’s companions, wherever they were hidden, would understand not to shoot at him. Zhangjing believed they would be able to recognize the notorious name that’s been announced twice already, and not take to it kindly. His guess was that it was Cai Xukun who was targeting Justin’s group.

 

Zhangjing is still on the ground and moving away fast and quiet when he hears three guns fire one after the other, towards someone on his north. What they all heard next:

 

An agonized groan, a thump on the ground, and

 

Silence.

 

Someone is quick to approach the body to inspect it, Zhangjing can guess by the sound of someone running. Zhangjing finally spots Justin after some time and sees that the boy is eager to get up and inspect too. And as much as he also wanted to go and take a final look at someone who he had been friends with for at least a day, something didn’t really feel right. _‘I feel like I’m forgetting something.”_

 

“Justin, I think he’s--”

 

Bang.

 

“LINKAI!”

 

“Player 7, Wang Linkai, has been eliminated by Player 1, Cai Xukun. Player 1, Cai Xukun, has achieved 3 out of 3 required kills. Congratulations for bei--”

 

_‘There was no announcement earlier! He’s not dead!’_

 

Justin’s hold on his gun is shaky at best as he fires quickly at Cai Xukun. He doesn’t hit his target, but the two continuous bullets fired managed to hit Xukun’s gun and make the man drop it in the quick move of avoiding getting shot. In the same chaos, another figure comes into view, sprinting towards Xukun while he was still in confusion and holding a knife high from the left, ready to come and swing down his knife. But Xukun is fast enough to regain his wits and dodge the attack, pulling out his own knife from his belt and holding it against the attacker.

 

Zhangjing looks at how Justin is fairing in all of this, and the poor kid is every bit shocked about everything that’s happening. He still has his gun held up, pointing at Xukun and shaking, moving from side to side as the fight continued. Zhangjing understood that he couldn’t really shoot as well to help, not when there was a huge risk of accidentally hitting

 

Yanjun.

 

Lin Yanjun.

 

He picks up the gun that he’s dropped on the ground, gripping it tightly. _‘Fuck, I have to do something.’_

 

Everything was too fast for his nervous eyes to follow. He makes out the image of Xukun avoiding the heavy swing of Yanjun’s knife by crouching down and countering by gathering both of Yanjun’s legs in his arms and making both of them crash on the ground and successfully disorienting Yanjun. Yanjun jab’s his knife towards Xukun, and in the mess of Xukun also trying to stab down into Yanjun’s chest, his knife catches Yanjun’s arm and slices through it from the wrist to the elbow.

 

“Don’t get in my way!” Xukun yells at Yanjun and looks to the side and meets Zhangjing’s eyes in an angered glare that throws him in a frozen, fearful state.“You Zhangjing I can’t believe you!” However, the split second of Xukun turning away was enough time for Yanjun to lunge a knife into his side, almost missing the target because of the massive push Yanjun had given it. “Don’t even think of touching him!” Yanjun angrily hisses at Xukun’s pained face that didn’t have any intention to back down. A heavy punch lands itself onto Yanjun’s jaw as Xukun attempts knock him out completely, having let go of his knife in an attempt to pull out Yanjun’s from his side.

 

That was enough to make Zhangjing move, at least. Since they were both wrestling on the ground now with Xukun on top landing blow after blow on Yanjun, shooting and risking Yanjun’s life wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Zhangjing calmly steps forward to shorten the distance, surprising Justin who was still rigid from shock. For once in his life, Zhangjing was frowning, and he was steady as he lifted up the and aimed it at the mess continuing to happen in front of him. Another scream from Yanjun having his shoulder sliced through steels Zhangjing’s resolve significantly, and when he looks Xukun’s back is in his view. And that was all he could see. There’s a clarity to how he’s feeling now, compared to when he had fired the gun before. It makes everything look significantly slower than they actually are and therefore easier to shoot.

 

_“So this is how Xukun must feel when he shoots, huh.”_

 

“Player 1, Cai Xukun, has been eliminated by Player 9, You Zhangjing. Player 9, You Zhangjing, has achieved 1 out of 3 required kills.”

 

 

_[--]_

> _04 - Huang Minghao_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive_
> 
> _Position: 04,-05_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __Fixation Bowie Combat Knife (2)_  
>  __Flashlight (2)_  
>  __Mineral Water (1910 mL)_  
>  __Handgun (15 bullets_  
>  __Canned Food (4)  
>  _ __Rope (30m)  
>  _ __Island Map_

 

_[--]_

> _05 - Lin Yanjun_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive (Injured)_
> 
> _Position: 04,-05_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __SOG Seal Knife_  
>  __M-9 Bayonet Knife_  
>  __Flashlight  
>  _ __Mineral Water (2000mL)  
>  _ __Handgun (15 bullets available)_

 

_[--]_

> _09 - You Zhangjing_
> 
>  
> 
> _Status: Alive (Injured)_
> 
> _Position: 04,-05_
> 
> _Items:_
> 
> __LHR Combat Knife_  
>  __Flashlight (2)_  
>  __Mineral Water (1850mL)_  
>  __(2)Handgun (14 bullets available)  
>  _ __Canned Food (2)  
>  _ __First Aid Kit_

 

_[Players’ Status]_

 

> _01_Cai Xukun (Eliminated by 09)_  
>  _02_Chen Linong (Alive)_  
>  _03_Fan Chengcheng (Alive)_  
>  _04_Huang Minghao (Alive)_  
>  _05_Lin Yanjun (Alive)_  
>  _06_Zhu Zhengting (Alive)_  
>  _07_Wang Ziyi (Alive)_  
>  _08_Wang Linkai (Eliminated by 01)_  
>  _09_You Zhangjing (Alive)_  
>  _10_Bi Wenjun (Alive)_  
>  _11_Qian Zhenghao (Alive)_  
>  _12_Bu Fan (Alive)_  
>  _13_Li Xikan (Alive)_  
>  _14_Zhu Xingjie (Eliminated by 01)_  
>  _15_Ling Chao (Alive)_  
>  _16_Zheng Ruibin (Alive)_  
>  _17_Tung Youlin (Eliminated by 01)_  
>  _18_Qin Fen (Alive)  
>  _ _19_Lin Chaoze (Alive)  
>  _ _20_Xu Shengen (Alive)_

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 2 dead, 1 injured, there's so many ways it could go from here, but i won't say anything lmao  
> it's going to be a little chiller in the next update,, maybe i can finally push some zhangjun in bc ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> if there are other ships you want to see, tell me and maybe i'll hint at them or smth  
> and if you're curious abt the other trainees, they're doing things too, dw, but they'll come a little later sorry
> 
> thanks for reading ily'all //srsly, bc i'm terrible at anything not fluff ;w; i appreciate it a lot


	6. DAY 2: VENGEANCE ISN’T OURS (3)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Congrats! We've reached the part where I add characters and put twists in the story! //sweats//i hope i know what I'm doing

__

 

_ [14:38] _

 

Yanjun had fallen unconscious briefly after the whole ordeal with Cai Xukun had ended, and it’s only until afternoon that he finally finds himself awake. His head hurts and he can’t feel his body unless he moves it (which he doesn’t, because then the only thing he would feel is pain), but his memory of what had taken place this late morning was clear and true in his mind.  _ ‘Linkai died,’  _ his mind supplies, but what’s unclear in his head is what happened after that, after his attempt to put his knife to use because he didn’t want to waste bullets with his non-existent gun skills. There was the sound of a shot, and then a heavy body slumping over his. 

 

“Zhangjing-ge! Yanjun-ge’s awake!” Justin calls out to Zhangjing who was busying himself by washing Yanjun’s blood-soaked shirt in the lake near where Zhangjing and Xukun had rested last night. While Yanjun was unconscious, they had decided that a place with freshwater was convenient and ideal for their current situation, where they would want to be able to keep Yanjun’s wounds clean to avoid any infection from happening. And while it helped that Zhangjing had a first aid kit with him that contained a antiseptics, bandages, and fever medicine, it was too limited and they knew they would have to figure out alternatives soon. 

 

Yanjun was too tired and powerless to even move his neck to see what was going on around him so he decided to just rely on his hearing. He was both numb and painful all over, and he thinks he might have lost a isgnificant amount of blood for him to pass out like he did after all that happened. Soon, he feels someone running towards where he thinks Justin is.

 

“Yanjun?” A face slides into Yanjun’s view, and despite the mix of numbness and pain in his body, he still finds himself appreciating the warmth he feels from Zhangjing as the older boy touches his forehead with a cool palm to check for his temperature.. “How are you feeling?”

 

“Shitty.” Yanjun says, and it comes out rough and weak. He hears Zhangjing laugh in response and thinks that maybe he isn’t really feeling that bad after all. Despite the tragically unfortunate circumstances, he had managed to somehow reunite with Zhangjing and that was the one good thing that happened today maybe, other than him making it out alive of course.  _ ‘I couldn’t even say my goodbyes to Linkai.’  _ “How long have I been out?”

 

“It’s afternoon already, so probably around 3 hours or something.” Justin answers for Zhangjing because the older boy had already started busying himself with preparing food for Yanjun. “And we saw another one of those supply drops, but we really couldn’t go after it because we were carrying you and stuff.” The boy looked like he was telling Yanjun how much he dragged the group down, but whiny and pouty so it only sounded like a joke to them. 

 

Justin moves away when Zhangjing comes back with a can of food that’s been warmed by a small fire that Yanjun hadn’t even noticed. “Can you feed yourself?” He asks Yanjun. In response, Yanjun pouts at the boy and says “No, I’m feeling shitty right now. Can you feed me?”

 

“You can’t eat?” 

 

Yanjun nods. 

 

“Fine. I guess I’ll eat your share for you then.” 

 

“Wait, no I’m not joking, Jing! I can’t even move! Tell me how I look right now.” Yanjun whined, feeling more comfortable because of his familiarity with Zhangjing and their small banters.

 

“Shitty.” Zhangjing jokes back, reaching over to brush his fingers over the splotches of dark blue and purple on the right side of Yanjun’s face. “You’re bruised all over, Mr. Lin.” The tone of the older boy’s voice didn’t sound like it because he kept on laughing to himself like how Yanjun knew he did, but Yanjun could see in the slight furrow of his eyebrows how worried he really was as he looked over Yanjun’s state, and by the swollenness of his caring brown eyes that he had been crying.  _ ‘I’m sorry I worried you,’  _ Yanjun wanted to say, but he said something else instead.

 

“Can you kiss me better then?” He said it as a joke to make the other smile, but instead, he found the boy slightly surprised and blushing. Well, it was said that most of the time jokes were 50% true, so maybe he did actually want Zhangjing to kiss him better. “You know, since you’re nursing me and all.”

 

“Eww, you’re both so mushy, you didn’t tell me You Zhangjing was your boyfriend!” Justin yells alarmingly loud, scooting even farther away from them and taking his open can of food to resume eating at a safer distance from them. “And as if Jing-ge would kiss you! Half of your face is blue! You’re like a smurf but with very uneven skintone!”

 

“What the hell Justin, and he didn’t tell you that because we’re not!” Zhangjing’s face is full of shock as he stares questioningly at the younger boy , but he can’t keep it on for long because what Justin was saying was actually true (the part about Yanjun being an uneven skintoned-smurf, not the first one). And while, the first things he said made Zhangjing feel a little too tense and awkward for his liking, in the end, Justin managed to lighten the mood between them. He’s very thankful for that. Justin, the little brat, rolls his eyes at Zhangjing’s denial.

 

“Yeah, sure, whatever milks your cereal.” The youngest says rather sarcastically, to which Zhangjing mutters ‘that doesn’t even make any sense.’ But it was ignored by Justin and he proceeded to make kissy faces at them (or Zhangjing only, because Yanjun couldn’t really turn his head enough to see). After he’s sure Justin had his eyes off him and Yanjun, Zhangjing turns back to the injured man beside him. Yanjun had his eyes closed, and Zhangjing was relieved to see that he was much more relaxed compared to earlier. But Zhangjing may really have to feed him if he was this tired though.  Zhangjing scoots closer, as slow and as quiet as he can toward’s Yanjun.  _ ‘I always give in to your requests, I’m so terrible.’  _ He thinks to himself as he lowers his head to place a small kiss on Yanjun.

 

Yanjun was almost asleep when he felt a soft pressure against his temple. It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to make him open his eyes. “Zhangjing?” The older boy had his eyes averted, and Yanjun could see that the tips of his ears were red from being caught. “Was that a--”

 

“Get better soon, Lin Yanjun.” Zhangjing interrupts him and gives him a glare that answered his supposed question. Yanjun could almost hear the boy say  _ ‘Yes, it was a kiss.’  _ with that annoyed tone of his.

 

If not for the stiffness he felt in his face, Yanjun was sure he would have broken into an uncontrollable smile. “Jing, come closer. I want to tell you something.” He whispered to make the other lean conveniently close enough for Yanjun to place a light kiss on the older boy’s cheek. “I’ll get better soon, don’t worry.”

 

Zhangjing doesn’t avert his eyes this time, opting to glare openly at Yanjun instead, but he failed at it because he couldn’t hold back the shy smile pulling on his lips. And so to avoid further embarrassment, he takes the food that he was originally supposed to give Yanjun and holds a pair of makeshift chopsticks Justin had jokingly made from a twig earlier. “Well if you want that to happen, then shut up and eat.”

  
  
  


_ [--] _

_ 16 - Zheng Ruibin _

 

_ Status: Alive _

_ Position: -10, 0 _

_ Items:  _

_ _SOG Seal Knife  _

_ _Handgun (9 bullets available) _

  
  


_ [19:29] _

  
  


“I just don’t understand why you think we shouldn’t go out there and help them.” 

 

“We can’t risk going out and dying. We’ve been doing our best trying to survive in this goddamn ‘game’ for what- a month? We’ve been here for a month!”

 

“Yes, I understand your point, but don’t you think going out there and getting more people would be beneficial and help us find out how to leave?

 

And we’d be preventing them from killing each other if we do this. Think about that.”

 

“But think about your safety, and everyone else’s safety. And it’s not like I’m throwing away your idea, it’s just that it’ll be too difficult with too many risks if we don’t have some fool proof plans--”

 

“Then why aren’t you thinking of a plan--!”

 

“Who ever told you I wasn’t thinking??”

  
  


Zheng Ruibin watched the two argue. There were six of them gathered around a makeshift table, which was an irregularly shaped piece of flat wood on top of big rocks, for a discussion regarding their next step and, well… dinner. But it seemed everyone else forgot about that, because they were all too tense from watching the ongoing argument to think about touching the food. It was only natural, Ruibin thought, for them to be thrown off from their usual dynamics after they had discovered Ruibin on their kilometer-square safe haven yesterday. A whole day spent talking to the other three people who he met had told him that they were surprised because He Dongdong and Li Changgeng, the two arguing at the moment, had always had small banters but never argued for more than three minutes.

 

Someone coughed, (‘ _ Huang Ruohan,’  _ Ruibin noted) and it seemed to bring Dongdong and Changgeng to the realization that they weren’t discussing properly anymore. Embarrassed, they apologized and reassured the others that they will try their best to not act like that again and try to reach an agreement. And thus, they moved on with the dinner -dried and fresh fruits, and small portions of bird meat- that Ruibin had helped prepare earlier.

  
  


When Zheng Ruibin first came to, he was welcomed by two people by the names of Hu Zhibang and Gan Jun. Apparently, Bangbang had found him by the beach  while he was on his usual patrol and called for Gan Jun’s help to carry him to their base, only to return and find that Ruibin had woken up already, but thankfully hadn’t moved from his place. Their base, when they had finally arrived, was something like a hut, built into a small cave. By their cave-hut place, he was introduced to a curly-haired  man that had been busy drying fruits named He Dongdong. Dongdong then, sent out Gan Jun to call for Ruohan and Changgeng to come back so they could meet Ruibin. Ever since then, Ruibin has been continually learning and understanding their situation, and the situation he was in.

 

These five people had been brought to this island to play the same game he was supposed to be playing now, except their game was already over. Their game had fifteen days for a total of fifteen players. It had been two weeks since then, Changgeng said, and that it was on the eleventh day of the game that they thought getting away from the main island would be safer, only to find that there were others who had the same idea before them.

 

Ruohan continued and explained to him that on the thirteenth day of here, they had come together with desperation to survive, and since there were five of them, if they killed three, it would leave one person there to die alone. It was the most tense they all had ever been despite none of them yelling or fighting, because in place of those was fear, and their tears, and their pain. By the time their fourteenth night came, none of them even had the strength to move because they had resigned themselves to their fate.

 

That was until they noticed something. Something faint, and red, and blinking, tucked away behind their ears, and even more by their hair.

 

“We suspected it was a device of some sort, so we removed it, carved it out with a knife and hoped for the best.”

 

“Did it end up doing something?” Ruibin asked.

 

“The fifteenth day came, and we just waited, listening to the announcements.” They didn’t mention it, but by thhe looks on their faces, Ruibin could guess that there were names announced that day that they didn’t want to hear. “But then, it ended -the last day- and yet, we didn’t die. There were announcements of the other players ‘losing’ and dying that night, but we were spared.” They all nodded, heads lowered, and in the silence, Ruibin heard someone mutter something along the lines of ‘I have to find who’s responsible for this’, and promising vengeance against them.

 

“All of us kind of agreed that it was a tracking device or something like that, because when we removed, we were announced to have lost by default. ‘Eliminated due to other circumstances,’ something like that.”

 

They all showed Ruibin the small, shallow scar behind their ears where the device used to be, and they inspected Ruibin’s ears for something as similar. As expected, there was something under his skin, but shallow enough to carve out without causing any real damage. They offered to carve out his device for him, and also saying that he was welcome to be a part of their small team now that they’ve told him everything.

 

And Ruibin had agreed gladly, thankful to have met people so kind enough to clear up his confusion and guide him. They decided to do it before they retired for the night so that they could give the wound some time to heal while Ruibin was sleeping. But they had also decided on another issue that night after dinner.

 

They weren’t completely confident, but they knew they couldn’t handle knowing somebody got killed when they were there and could have prevented it by gathering everyone and helping them stay alive so they could all figure  out a way to escape without having to follow the ridiculous rules of the game they didn’t even want to play.

  
  


“Player 16, Zheng Ruibin, has been eliminated due to other circumstances. 15 players left.”

  
  


_ [Players’ Status] _

__ 01_Cai Xukun (Eliminated by 09)  
__ 02_Chen Linong (Alive)  
__ 03_Fan Chengcheng (Alive)  
__ 04_Huang Minghao (Alive)  
__ 05_Lin Yanjun (Alive)  
__ 06_Zhu Zhengting (Alive)  
__ 07_Wang Ziyi (Alive)  
__ 08_Wang Linkai (Eliminated by 01)  
__ 09_You Zhangjing (Alive)  
__ 10_Bi Wenjun (Alive)  
__ 11_Qian Zhenghao (Alive)  
__ 12_Bu Fan (Alive)  
__ 13_Li Xikan (Alive)  
__ 14_Zhu Xingjie (Eliminated by 01)  
__ 15_Ling Chao (Alive)  
__ 16_Zheng Ruibin (Eliminated)  
__ 17_Tung Youlin (Eliminated by 01)  
__ 18_Qin Fen (Alive)  
_ 19_Lin Chaoze (Alive)  
_ __ 20_Xu Shengen (Alive)

  
  


_ End of day two. 18 days left. _

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> whoop whoop so basically, ruibin and the others are like, incognito  
> +and yes that is a tracking device, but the reason they didn't die was bc that device was also set to release a poison to kill the players once the time limit has been reached  
> and idk if u rmbr the map fr chap2, but there's this smaller island on the far west, yes, that's where ruibin and the other chars are //and if u wanted to know, some of the ppl i was choosing from to add were chen siqi, xu heni, jiang dahe, ming peng, chen yifu & some 5 more others who i can't rmbr bc im dumb and deleted my notes
> 
> well, that's it, thank you for reading ;w; see y'all next upd (sunday if i follow my sched), leave some if u have questions i'll answer them if they don't spoil anything


	7. DAY 3: THE PLACE (1)

 

 

_ [08:41] _

 

When he wakes up, Yanjun doesn’t feel as disoriented as he was yesterday after going through a full evening of rest, with Zhangjing and Justin taking turns staying awake and keeping watch. He had insisted he was fine enough after his afternoon rest to help keep watch, but they laughed at him and even mocked him. (“Yeah right, we’d rather not have you getting another stab wound.”) He feels annoyed about it, but maybe getting even more rest was the better option in the long run. He still can’t move his arm that much because all of his stitches might rip open, but he’s thankful that at least it wasn’t a fracture or anything that would totally immobilise his right arm. And he’s kind of feeling a bit more relieved too, now that Zhangjing was here and he wasn’t the eldest anymore, he didn’t have to take on most of the leadership and feel stressed about whether or not he was making the right decisions.

 

Justin and Zhangjing seem to be doing just as good as him too, seeing how much more calm and lively they’e being while trying to put together a breakfast. It was no doubt they had gotten closer or something while Yanjun was out of it, or as Justin stated: “We had a bonding moment while we were wiping off your blood.” And Zhangjing: “He said I reminded him of his gege but tougher.”

 

But more importantly, Zhangjing was ecstatic when he remembered that Justin was in possession of a map of the island. As seen  from the map, there were two lakes in the map and according to Zhangjing, they were camping at the second, easternmost one. Justin was awed at how fast and how sure Zhangjing was, considering it could have been either of the lakes, but he just dismissed the other as if he had been aware with or without the map.

 

“No, it’s because Xukun and I came from over there, that’s how I figured it out.” Zhangjing laughs and explains to him when Justin tells him that.

 

“Oh, ahaha, that makes sense.” Justin says before he pushes in the more important question. “So where are we going to go now?”

 

Before Zhangjing could answer with ‘I don’t really know’ or something like that, Yanjun brings in some information Zhangjing might have not known and hopes that it could give the boy some ideas. It was also one of the things he considered to be his priorities. “We’re going to look for Justin’s friends. Zhu Zhengting and Fan Chengcheng. Do you have any ideas where we could start?”

 

“The other lake.” Zhangjing considers this additional information and supplies an answer immediately, and when the other two don’t say anything after that, Zhangjing explains why so. “Since that’s the only source of freshwater in that side of the island, we’re bound to find someone there, hopefully it’s your geges, Justin.”

 

Justin nods in understanding, and Zhangjing doesn’t say anything more and instead looks at Yanjun and waits, so Yanjun figures he was only saying that as a suggestion and was waiting for someone to confirm it and tell them what to do next. “Okay so, let’s pack up and start walking now so we can reach the lake by afternoon.”

 

“Roger!” Justin answers a little too enthusiastically and proceeds to clean up their small camp. “Let’s talk about fighting strategies on the way too!” 

 

To which Zhangjing answers with: “Isn’t that obvious already? We’ll make Yanjun hide and then do the work ourselves.”

 

“Hey, I can still use my arms, I’m not crippled!” He moves his arm to show them that it’s fine, much to the two’s horror from fear that it would rip open from the movement. 

 

“And make me go through giving you more stitches? No way! I’ve done more than enough stitches a non-medical person should ever have to do!” Zhangjing scrunches up his face in disgust and Justin joins him, having been a assisting Zhangjing while he worked on stitching up Yanjun’s arm, repeats in a very panicked voice: “Oh my god please stop moving it around I can see it opening in my head!”

 

Oh well, let dorks be dorks. They adjourn their little meeting and disperse for a while to do their own little preparations, but shortly after, Yanjun sees Zhangiing gesture for Yanjun to come to him.

 

“What is it?”

 

“Here’s the thing, Jun. I want to make Justin win and be able to leave the game. If we ever encounter trouble on the way to the other lake, I want you and I to keep this in mind and make sure it’s Justin who gets the shot.” 

 

“Roger.” Yanjun agrees with Zhangjing. Justin is very much the youngest out of them, and the sooner he could get out of here, the better. He thought it was a little too selfless of Zhangjing for his liking, but he can’t help but feel the same. 

 

He can’t have another disaster where someone under him dies. He couldn’t even say goodbye to Linkai. He doesn’t want a repeat to happen to Justin.

 

But what Yanjun disagrees with is what Zhangjing says next.

 

“And after him, I’ll make sure you get out next. I’ll find Zhengting and Chengcheng if we haven’t then.”

 

“Zhangjing, no, don’t talk like that.” Yanjun interrupts the elder, breaking the concentrated look on his face. “I can’t leave you here alone. And you don’t even know Zhengting’s and Chengcheng’s faces, how are you going to find them without risking getting yourself killed while asking for names?” 

 

“Yanjun, me being alone here isn’t as bad as you think. I promise I’ll make it out. You’ll make it out. Justin will make it out, and so will his friends. I’ll make sure of it. Trust me.”

 

“I do trust you, I’m just worried!” At this point, Yanjun gets too loud and it makes Justin walk towards them with all of his things ready and the area behind him clean of their traces. 

 

“Is...everything okay?” 

 

Yanjun hasn’t cooled down enough to answer, but he doesn’t need to because Zhangjing smiles sweetly and answers Justin for them. 

 

“Yeah, we were just...going over things. Say, Justin, why don’t you describe what Zhengting and Chengcheng look like? Since we’re searching for them and all.” 

 

Justin’s face lights up immediately after that, and he goes into a very detailed (because Zhangjing keeps on urging him to him everything about them) description of Zhu Zhengting and Fan Chengcheng.

 

Yanjun still isn’t feeling like it was okay to leave their conversation like that, but he can’t do much about it now but hope it doesn’t have to go that way. 

  
  


\--

  
  


_ [11:28] _

 

“How are we going to make it across the water by the way?” Ruibin asks while he’s alone with Dongdong and Zhibang, packing things like dried fruit, bottles of coconut water, and other necessities into their supply bags. 

 

“Oh, when we, me, Hanhan and Jun came here, we actually just swam.” Zhibang says nonchalantly, and then chuckles when Dongdong looks at him with disbelief. “It’s certainly a doable option, but it’s exhausting.”

 

“Really? Changgeng and I weren’t confident we could do it. We kind of made a makeshift floatie out of a  supply-bag parachute.” Zhibang was making an ‘oohh’ face, and then complimented their idea, adding that their group was kind of desperate to get off the island to think of anything other than trusting their swimming abilities and praying they make it no matter what.

 

“We should try to take breaks so we don’t exhaust ourselves immediately, especially once we reach the other beach.” 

 

Zheng Ruibin nodded, understanding that it would be risky to rest because for all they knew, someone could attack them while they were vulnerable and they’d have no choice but to defend themselves and have to put out someone they could have added to the group instead. It was inevitable that they would tire themselves out from swimming such a long distance, and Ruibin was a lot more nervous about swimming said distance himself than he showed, but he trusts all of the others. They said they managed to swim without anything so it wasn’t inhumane and impossible, and with the floaties Gan Jun, Li Changgeng and Huang Ruohan were busy making, Ruibin gains a little more confidence that he can do it.

 

When he snaps out of thought, Zhibang is talking to him.

 

“We’ll make sure this isn’t all for nothing. Trust us on that promise, alright?” 

 

That’s right. Ruibin, who still hasn’t grasped the reality and gravity of this whole situation wouldn’t know jackshit about what he was supposed to do and how he was going to fend for himself. If not for them, he might have done something dumb and lost his life already. He doesn’t really have a choice on this one too.

 

“Of course. I’ll trust you guys with everything.” He flashes them a smile and meets their determined looks with an equally determined one from himself.

 

“We’re going to start with  _ that  _ place, right?” Zhibang asks Dongdong to confirm.

 

“What place?” Ruibin interjects.

 

“Yeah. We’ll pick up everyone that we can on the way. I was thinking on it with Changgeng last night.” Dongdong confirms first before handling Ruibin’s question.

 

“The place we’re talking about is a building in the island. It’s rundown and old, and some of it has fallen apart, but it has a lot of supplies in it. It’s close to a lake too, so there’s definitely going to be some people there that we can help.”

 

“Hopefully friendly people.” Zhibang adds.

  
  


\--

  
  


_ [18:57] _

 

“Um, I’m friendly so… please put that gun down… I just, saw the building so I thought I could sleep with a roof for a night?” Chen Linong has both of his hands raised above his head and his weapons kicked a good 3 feet from him as he tries to appeal to the stone-faced (not to mention ‘intimidating as heck’) person holding a gun that’s pointed at him. “Wait, uh, I forgot to introduce myself! I’m Chen Linong, what’s your… name?” 

 

_ ‘He’s not saying anything I can’t tell if he’s pissed off or not Aaaaah I’m going to get killed oh my god oh my god-’ _

 

“Wenjun-ge, is everything alright down there?” 

 

Both Linong and who he assumes must be ‘Wenjun-ge’ turn their heads to the concerned voice coming from the staircase behind Wenjun. There, a boy who Linong can’t help but associate with a title like ‘prince’ or something is standing, looking at both of them with caution. 

 

“Chao, go back up there. It’s not safe down here.” Wenjun says quietly, but the bare corridor makes it echo loud enough for Linong to hear.

 

“Uh, Chao? I’m Chen Linong, call me Nongnong, but also  can you tell your Wenjun-ge that I’m not a bad person and...that he can stop pointing his gun at me now?”

 

Linong sees Wenjun consider it quietly before he hesitantly lowers his gun and gestures for Nongnong to follow them up to the second floor. Wenjun said it wasn’t safe down there, but the second floor is kind of tilted, and there’s this constant fear in Linong’s head that makes him feel like the whole floor is going to fall down if he moves too much. Nevertheless, he follows Chao and Wenjun-ge through the second floor’s corridor into one of the rooms. 

 

Chao introduces himself as Ling Chao while they’re walking, and Wenjun-ge tells him that his full name is Bi Wenjun and that he’s sorry for giving Nongnong a hard time. Linong understands of course, that it wasn’t difficult for people to be suspicious of everyone and everything, so he tells Wenjun that it was okay and that he didn’t take it to heart.

 

The room they go into looks pretty much like the other rooms Linong saw them pass by, but in this one, it’s significantly less dusty than the others and there are sheets spread on the floor in one of the room’s corners. Wenjun pulls open the bottom drawer of an old-looking dresser and grabs a similar looking sheet, passing it to Linong and telling him to spread it next to his and Ling Chao’s so he could have a place to sleep later.

 

And it’s peaceful from there on for a while, just him and Ling Chao getting to know each other in hushed voices. 

 

Until they hear noises coming from outside of course.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I may have had some writer's block after the last update and almost almost didn't make it to my set upd schedule
> 
> but i did lmao so,, bear with this chapter (i wrote half of it in my dreams while i was sleeping and im glad i remembered what i wrote im so happy oh my god, and then the rest of it in mobile so i didnt add any of those player profiles w their locations and stuff like i do when i introduce new ppl) 
> 
> this might be a shitty upd bc i forced it out, but it has what i wanted to put out so im ok w that //altho i do feel sorry abt the quality,,, ;w; 
> 
> thabk you for reading !! feel free to point out mistakes  
> i'll go over this tmr and check

**Author's Note:**

> my ip/npc fics are mostly zhangjun fluff, but i'm doing a survival au for a change (i really wanna try new things and take on challenges to improve my writig, pls support me ;w;),, kinda battle royale/hunger games-ish
> 
> i've wanted to do this since abt 2 weeks ago but i finally got the guts to do it
> 
> important note! a lot of the stuff that happen are decided randomly  
> i literally asked a friend to choose a number from 1-20 and wrote what i ended up with  
> (oof kc, well, this is what 11 got you!)
> 
> i'll try to keep my updates not too far from one another, but pls don't expect too much ,w, 
> 
> anyway, thank you for checking this out and...idk,comment who you want to survive?


End file.
